NASMOTO Round 1 – Grand Prix of Florida
The 2006 Red Bull KTM Supermoto team debuted at the first round of the North American Supermoto Championship Series held in Starke, Florida on the first weekend in March. The beautiful weather and relaxed atmosphere of this NASMOTO event offered the new team the perfect chance to start working together and preparing for the upcoming AMA Supermoto Series. A number of podium finishes were recorded in the process.
Reigning 2005 AMA Supermoto Champion Jürgen Kunzel spent the weekend gracefully carving his KTM through the infield. In spite of not having a 5th gear straight-away, the track still offered the chance to quickly test bike set-up. The sandy dirt section is more than ill tempered enough to round out the handling and suspension test. Kunzel and teammate Ben Carlson were competing in both the Pro SMX 450 class and the Pro / SMX Open class, while John Lewis split his track time between the Pro / SMX 250 class and the Pro / SMX Open class. With qualifying on Saturday and a two moto format on Sunday, there was a full weekend of racing scheduled for the riders and spectators.
In the first Pro / SMX 450 moto Kunzel and Carlson finished the first lap in the second and fourth positions. Within a few laps Kunzel had a lock on his spot, while Carlson spent the rest of the race working into third. The second 450 moto started with a bit of a twist in the dirt section and both riders got a chance to practice their passing. Just before the white flag lap, Kunzel took over third and Carlson was one rider back in fifth. Scoring a second and third place finish in the two motos, Kunzel took second overall in the class. Carlson’s performance earned him the third podium spot at the end of the day.
The first Pro / SMX open moto started the same as the first 450 moto had. Only this one ended with Kunzel in second and Carlson in fourth. The second moto, however, was a new story! Both riders had great starts, with Carlson shoehorning his way into the fourth just ahead of Kunzel. Motored his KTM into the dirt section and Carlson held onto the inside line to take over third. With Kunzel one rider back, Carlson was able to build a gap that held once Kunzel worked his way into fourth. Kunzel rode the last lap right on Carlson’s rear fender waiting for the mistake that he never made. But because of the two moto format, it was Kunzel standing on the third podium spot.
After the final race Mitch Hansen felt good about what he had seen from the team over the weekend,”Our weekend went quite well. It is a pretty knarly track. We are not used to quite this much sand and loose dirt in the off road section, but they did well It is good for their training and they didn’t poop out!” He was excited about the 2006 season and voiced an opinion held by his entire team, “KTM is the leader in supermoto. I feel very privileged and honored to have this opportunity to represent KTM and the people that work at KTM.”
Kunzel was also impressed with the team’s first outing, “It all new for us. It is Red Bull KTM, but it is all new guys. But the new team did a really good job here and we had a good time. I think it is good for my season. It is my first time this season that I go out for riding and I feel good. For me it was perfect.”
